Korea wants your next business meeting in Seoul

The South Korean government is rolling out a slew of incentives for Filipino businessmen and industries to hold their next meeting, conference or travel in their country.

At the annual Korea MICE Night 2018 by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) at the Peninsula Manila, Joon Kil Jo, KTO Manila office director said the event wanted to stimulate the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition (MICE) market in the Philippines.

“This is an ideal moment for more Filipinos from various business industries to visit Korea, be it for meetings, conventions, for team building activities or as an incentive. Korea promises a memorable inspiring travel experience,” he said.

Since 2016, KTO noted a sharp 123 percent rise in the number of incentive tourists from the Philippines to South Korea because of passion and endeavor of both the business sector and travel agencies.

The group said between 2016 and 2017, incentive travelers from Southeast Asia has experienced an uptrend particularly to Malaysia at 27.3 percent, Vietnam at 90.5 percent and the Philippines, which posted the highest growth percentage at 128.7 percent with 4,855 travelers for incentive and corporate meeting purposes.

KTO expressed optimism the interest in Korea as an incentive destination would continue to expand further with the introduction of Korean Group Visa for Philippine passport holders.

“The Korean Embassy in the Philippines has made visa application a lot easier for corporate and school groups traveling to Korea for incentives, corporate meetings or educational purposes,” said John Christopher Bonifacio, assistant manager for KTO Manila office.

Under the program, a company will only need to submit a copy of their business permit and a visa request letter while the employees or staff only have to submit their original passports via the 10 designated travel agencies for group visa.

In addition, KTO has also rolled out its new MICE brand “Korea Unique Venues,” introducing 20 world-class meeeting venues. These venues are a result of close collaborations with local convention bureaus and suppliers, where the Korea MICE Bureau evaluated recommended sites and filtered them according to their characteristics, usability, and willingness to open the place for business events.